Labman Celebrates – LABFIESTA 2017

It was all tacos and sombreros at this year’s incredible Labman summer party – Labfiesta. With a veritable wealth of moustaches and the first taste of our very own Labman beer, AiPA, there was no question that the celebration would be memorable. Labman now numbers almost 100 staff, many of whom brought their families and friends along to experience this great event.

The day began with hotly contested squash matches on Labman’s recently completed in-house squash court. As the clouds began to clear over our corner of North Yorkshire, and the ponchos lit up the grey skies, attentions turned to the ever-popular hammerschlagen and automated tequila, which fired a run of salt, tequila, and lemon.

Football croquet, boxes and boxes of tortilla chips, the giant bouncy castle, and a treasure hunt for the children, led neatly to the afternoon’s main event: the highly-anticipated ping-pong cannon competition. Over the past few months, with Labman’s support, teams of our engineers have scribbled, designed, re-designed and constructed unique cannon systems to propel ping-pong balls at high velocity; the prize: eternal fame as the Ping Pong Champion of Labfiesta 2017. The cannons ranged from a ???? to a piston-valve driven cannon that created a pressure differential that fired the ping pong ball at 108mps, or 241.589mph! The winner: Matthew Watson!

As the sun began to set on a now-glorious day, the cricket match got started, Labman HQ reverberated with the sounds of cheers from the beer pong table, and the robotic cocktail maker emerged from last year’s Labfest. The Labman Brewery’s first beer, AiPA, brewed for us by Three Brothers Brewing Co. in County Durham, helped to wash down a wonderfully spicy table of tacos, chilli and guacamole.

With full bellies, Labman’s staff gathered gratefully around a giant fire to fend off the cold of the evening. A piñata was strung up from a nearby tree and was promptly destroyed by some eager thrashing with a limb of the tree. The fire was fed until the wee hours and those who were camping slid wearily into their tents. Another great year for Labman; Labfiesta 2017 will be well remembered.

Thank you to all who helped to organise the event, especially Rob Hodgson and Zane Brough, and a huge thank you to everyone who aided in the setup and pack-down.